In the past 20 years of working with immigration issues, by far my favorite thing to do is to help international couples file for permanent residence through marriage to a U.S. citizen. Partly this is because they all have such interesting stories - from the American woman who met a Tibetan(now former)monk while traveling in India to the fairly common story of two classmates who meet here, or while the American is studying abroad, fall in love and decide to get married. In almost all cases, the "immigration story" has a happy ending (unlike many other immigration challenges) and that's why I enjoy helping people get through the paperwork and start a whole new life together.
There are two important things that couples do need to consider, however. The first is that the American must be making 125% of the "poverty level income" for his or her geographic area in order to be a sponsor. This can be difficult if the couple is still in school but there are some ways around it. The second consideration is that the fees rose enormously in July 2007 (and tend to rise every year) and they are quite high. Fees to immigration will be around $1300, which is a large amount for many people. On the other hand, if the petition is filed with all the proper paperwork, the non-immigrant spouse usually has a work permit in hand and can begin work within 90 days. The time it takes to process permanent residence varies from state to state but the work permit is required to be issued within 90 days if the permanent residence cannot be granted within that time period.
Filing for permanent residence usually requires more work and time and money than most people ever imagine. However, as the song says, "love will see you through." I am just here to help it along.
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